10 Rooms Design

What are you all planning for 2015? Any exciting changes? Perhaps less change?

We are still pursuing simplification around here, trying to find more balance.

As the kids get older, we realize how precious our time with them is, and how fleeting.

If you been reading the blog, you may know we downsized last year. We had bought and sold for many years, each time buying a larger home. We finally ended up in our "dream" home, a huge house on a huge property, only to find we were overwhelmed by it. Not only is the upkeep enormous, but we lived separately, all off in different corners of the house. Our sense of family got lost in all the square footage. People could not believe we were selling to downsize. Everyone asked why we would leave such a beautiful house. The problem with that house was that it never became a home, it remained larger than life the four years we lived there. Going from over 4000 square feet to 2800 square feet meant losing a few perks, like an amazing kitchen, but we realize how lucky we are to still have such a gracious home. I love that we are all shoulder-to-shoulder here, snuggling on the sofa at night, one kid working on a laptop, a card game going on, the tv in the background. It's in that chaotic togetherness that a family thrives.

A year later, I look around this home and realize that there are far too many "things". I had purchased so many accessories in the last home, trying to warm it up with layers. Here there is no need for all of those layers, it's time to embrace a more simplified home. Are any of you feeling this? We all blog about more, more, more, but really it's about meeting our needs in beautiful way. Anyone else ready to get back there with me?